SPEECHES
FROM THE 2004 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG
NEW YORK • AUGUST 30, 2004

Delegates and guests: Welcome to my New York,
your New York, our New York, everybody's New York.

Thank you, Mayor Koch, for serving this town so well over
so many years and, especially, for helping us mobilize, not
only the 8,000 volunteers you sought, but the more than 20,000
you got for this amazing event. Your success is a mark of
how excited New Yorkers are to have the Convention here.

It's also our way of saying "thank you" to the
Republicans for your tremendous vote of confidence in our
city. We should remember, it wasn't so long ago that confidence
in New York was in short supply. When I took the oath of
office nearly three years ago, we were a city in mourning
... a city that had, in a few dreadful hours, lost almost
3,000 of our own - husbands, wives, sons, and daughters from
every part of the nation, and every corner of the globe.

There were those who doubted then whether this city could
hold onto the gains made during the 90s under Mayor Giuliani.
A lot of people were wondering what the future held for New
York City, or whether we even had a future.

But neither America nor President Bush ever stopped believing
in us. Nearly two years ago, with the city's fate still a
question mark in many minds, our President decided that this
Convention would come to New York. This was a show of faith
that required courage and vision - one that all New Yorkers
will not forget.

And today it fills me with enormous pride - and gratitude
- to tell everyone ... that New York City is back! Our economy
is growing, with 45,000 private sector jobs created in the
last 12 months alone. Our neighborhoods are humming, with
a level of public and private construction not seen since
the end of World War II. Our streets are bustling, with a
three-year, 15% reduction in crime that has defied the odds
and made the nation's safest city even safer. Our schools
are reviving. Our streets are cleaner. Our quality of life
is better. And our future is brighter than ever.

And New York City has been given the high honor of representing
all America in the competition to host the world's greatest
athletic event: the 2012 Olympics.

It's only fitting, because from our earliest days, when
Peter Stuyvesant was the governor of a small, multi-lingual
frontier outpost, right up to today, when 170 languages are
spoken on our streets and in our homes, New York City has
been, and always will be, an Olympic Village.

We've showed the world that New York can never be defeated,
because of its dynamic and diverse population...because it
embodies the spirit of enterprise and the love of liberty...and
because, no matter who you are, if you believe in yourself
and your dream, New York will always be the place for you.

This is the city of dreamers. And time and again, it's the
place where the greatest dream of all - the American Dream
- has been tested and has triumphed.

It's where, in his first major national speech in 1860,
Abraham Lincoln challenged this party, and our nation, to
face the moral evil of slavery with "the faith that
right makes might."

And later that year, it was New York's delegation to the
Republican National Convention that moved to make Abraham
Lincoln's nomination for the Presidency of the United States
unanimous. I'm proud to say that, framed on a wall of my
home, is the flag those New York Republicans carried during
that convention. It's a constant reminder to me of the proud
role New York played at a pivotal moment in our nation's
history.

Four score and seven years later, New York City is where
Jackie Robinson erased the color barrier in our national
pastime with his bat and glove and gallant spirit. A monument
to this trailblazer is under construction in Brooklyn to
remind us all: America is for everyone.

And our city is also where, on Independence Day, Governor
Pataki and I laid the cornerstone for the Freedom Tower at
the site of the World Trade Center. The terrorists hit us
there. Our knees buckled. But we stayed on our feet. And
we showed that our dreams, like our liberties, will never
be lost to violence or hate.

No place epitomizes the American Experience and the American
Spirit more than New York City. Ironically, it is exactly
because we are a city that embraces freedom - that welcomes
everyone and encourages their dreams - that New York remains
on the frontlines in the war on terror.

I want to thank President Bush for supporting New York City
in changing the Homeland Security Funding formula and for
leading the global war on terrorism. The President deserves
our support. We are here to support him. I am here to support
him.

We all must recognize that Homeland Security funds should
be allocated by threat and no other reason. I will repeat
this message to my fellow Republicans, Democrats, and Independents,
as many times as it takes, so we can keep New York safe and
secure.

New Yorkers will go forward, doing our duty for our city,
our nation, and our families. And we know that you will,
too. Because in our hour of greatest trial, you - all our
fellow Americans, from every corner of this land - were there
for us.

And we owe you more than we can ever say. Your Police Officers
and Firefighters volunteered for duty at Ground Zero. Your
houses of worship sent blankets, food, and prayers. Your
school children mailed us pictures and poems. That's another
reason that this Convention is our chance to say "thank
you." It's why we're making our town your town for the
week.

We're the World's Second Home - the place where every religion
is practiced and every culture is celebrated. It's all there
for you - from Brooklyn Heights to Bayside, and from Coney
Island to Chelsea. Take it all in: The world's greatest museums;
Broadway; the Yankees and the Mets; high- fashion shopping
and bargain-hunting specials; and more than 18,000 restaurants
in all five boroughs, eager to please any palate and fit
any budget.

And let me give you an insider's tip - my own personal favorite
thing to do in this city. At least one morning while you're
here, begin the day with a ride on the ferry to Staten Island.
Out there in the harbor, you'll glide past the Statue of
Liberty, the beacon of freedom that America holds out to
people everywhere. It's guaranteed to bring a lump to your
throat, because you'll be looking at New York the way generations
of new Americans have: